The president's LeBron James tweet: Editorial Board Roundtable

Updated August 8, 2018 at 11:02 AM;Posted August 8, 2018 at 11:00 AM

LeBron James speaks at the opening ceremony for his I Promise School in Akron last week, before President Trump slammed James in a late-night tweet last Friday, and the First Lady the next morning praised James' work with youth and suggested through her spokeswoman that she'd like to visit the school. (Phil Long, Associated Press, File)

Even the First Lady subtly rebuked her husband by commenting Saturday, through her spokeswoman, and without mentioning or repudiating Trump's tweet, that, "It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation," and suggesting she'd "be open" to visiting LeBron's new I Promise Akron school. The school said Monday it would welcome a visit from Melania Trump.

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather called Trump's tweet racist -- and he wasn't the only one who thought that calling the nation's most famous black athlete dumb was a way to diminish him through a racist stereotype.

Dean Obeidallah wrote in a CNN opinion article that, "The claim that blacks have 'low IQs' is taken right from the white nationalist playbook," citing other instances where Trump referenced "low IQ" (Maxine Waters) or having been a "poor student" (Barack Obama) to demean prominent politicians of color.

Others saw this just as Trump being Trump, wielding his favorite late-night weapon, an unpleasant, pointed tweet, against a critic.

And, after all, LeBron James' tweet from last year calling Trump a "bum" was on Twitter's most-retweeted list last year.

U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!

Yet what does it say about this nation that it doesn't cause more of an uproar when a president resorts to late-night name-calling from the White House, no matter who's the target?

And on the eve of the Charlottesville anniversary, when an Ohio man sympathetic to white supremacist groups is alleged to have intentionally killed one of the counterprotesters, and when Trump said there was "blame on both sides" -- shouldn't the president of the United States be doing more to bring us together and dispelling the intolerant undertones of so much of American discourse instead of, arguably, contributing to it?

The editorial board roundtable offers its perspectives and we look forward to reading yours in the comments.

Ted Diadiun, editorial board member:

No one should be surprised by now that President Trump would embarrass himself with an outrageously juvenile tweet, but his insults do not become racist just because they are directed at a black man. LeBron James has demonstrated which of the two men is more mature by his refusal to respond in kind and by declining to pull out the race card, and we should follow his lead.

Thomas Suddes, editorial writer:

The First Lady is the one good thing about Donald Trump's presidency. The president himself is a national embarrassment.

Victor Ruiz, editorial board member:

Donald Trump questioning LeBron's intelligence is an old tactic by a modern racist: insinuate that African-Americans are less intelligent, therefore inferior. The real disappointments are his supporters who allow his hate, and perhaps even buy into his rhetoric of superiority and supremacy.

Mary Cay Doherty, editorial board member:

President Trump should not hurl insults that impugn the intelligence of his critics, and likewise, people in the media and entertainment industry should not be cavalier with accusations of racism that impugn the integrity of those who disagree with them. Inflammatory rhetoric and derision don't solve problems; they create them.

Eric Foster, editorial board member:

You can debate whether or not this specific tweet is racist until you are blue in the face. One thing that cannot be debated; however, is that Trump regularly engages in racist behavior.

Lisa Garvin, editorial board member:

Trump's ugly tweet about LeBron James was two for the price of one. He struck back at someone who called him a bum, while throwing more red meat to his slavishly faithful base, which is all he seems to care about anymore. Sad!

Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, cleveland.com:

The president demeans both himself and the presidency with his mean-spirited tweets. So much of Trump's popularity seems to rest on his lack of "political correctness," but at some point the American people are going to wake up to the reality of too many of his tweets: bigoted, manipulative and false.

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